alt Hacker News> because they are better than the open models.
There is never "better". There is only "better cost/benefit for X". If you need frontier performance, then yes, a frontier model is required. If you are flagging forms for human validation, you might get away with a much simpler and less smart model.
I agree with you but government contracts are often very broad and can cover multiple departments.
The DoD is likely going to choose one provider for all purposes so frontier performance will be a requirement.